Sunday, August 1, 2010

Don't Have a Cow ... for Dinner

Though Memphis has a decent number of veg-friendly restaurants, we're lacking a totally vegetarian eatery. Thankfully, Nashville's Wild Cow Vegetarian Restaurant is a quick three-hour drive down I-40. The boyfriend and I were in the state capitol this weekend visiting his siblings, and we made dinner at Wild Cow a number one priority.

The place opened several months ago, and I've been drooling over their menu ever since. I've been dreaming of the day when I'd finally have a free weekend to make the road trip. When we arrived at the restaurant on Saturday night, I could hardly contain my anticipation. After much deliberation, I finally settled on the Seitan Philly Cheezesteak with Spicy Kale:

Oh my god, y'all. Best thing ever. Their seitan was sliced thinly and it may be the most tender wheat meat I've ever put into my mouth. It was sauteed with green peppers and onions and covered in a yummy nooch sauce. They offered a choice of Daiya or nooch, but I was curious to taste their homemade sauce. The kale, my choice of side item, was so, so tasty. I doused it in sriracha and some nooch sprinkles that were offered on the table.

Paul isn't vegetarian (and definitely not vegan), so he chose to have dairy cheese subbed out for the standard nooch sauce in his Pinto Bean Nachos:

Wild Cow makes everything vegan unless you request dairy cheese. Isn't that crazy awesome? A vegan default! I managed to sample a bite of beans and rice with no cheese and it was pretty tasty.

Paul ordered the Black Bean Soup as his side item:

I ended up eating about half of it. We both loved this soup, which was the featured soup of the day. It was thin and sorta chipotle-ish.

Wild Cow offers numerous vegan dessert options, and I wasn't about to pass up a moist slice of this Grasshopper Cake:

Here's a messy inside shot of the cake in my eco-friendly to-go container:

We thought we'd be too full to share cake, so we requested the takeout container. But we ended up eating the whole slice in the restaurant. I think this may be the tastiest slice of vegan cake I've ever had. Seriously. So, so moist and rich. And the frosting had just the right amount of mint. Just like a vegan cake version of a Girl Scout Thin Mint!!

I knew that I'd need to have something for lunch on Sunday since we were staying with Paul's sister. So I ordered Wild Cow's daily special to go — Sauteed Veggies and Brown Rice with Blackened Tempeh and Harissa Sauce:

The best part about this dish? $1 off every purchase of the daily special at Wild Cow goes to the help the Gulf Coast oil spill relief effort!

I heated the entree up this morning and it was to die for! The tempeh was sliced thin and blackened to perfection. The veggies were a mix of cabbage and sweet corn. I did add a little Maggie Seasoning to the dish because I love sodium.

I can't wait to go back to Nashville for more Wild Cow deliciousness! I was originally planning on meeting Lacey from Kuntrageous Vegan there, but she wasn't able to make it. So it looks like I have a great excuse to go back soon!Wild Cow is located at 1896 Eastland Ave. Here's their mouth-watering menu.

Speaking of Nashville, check out this adorable veg children's book Garlic-Onion-Beet-Spinach-Mango-Carrot-Grapefruit Juice by local author Nathalie VanBalen. It's a cute book about two vikings who love to juice. When the vikings learn that yellow-spotted snail shells make a great nutritional supplement in their juice, they're forced to confront the ethical issues with eating animals. Here a link to Nathalie's website (and you can even buy little stuffed vikings!).

YUMMMMMM. I definitely want to check that place out. Drew went to Nashville recently without me and we've been wanting to make another trip. Maybe we can sync up with you and Paul one weekend and make it a road trip together!

That grasshopper cake is dangerous! They have a Gluten Free Vegan cake that's amazing too. It's really dangerous for me to live so close to there! My husband worked with John (one of the owners) at a previous restaurant so he goes in to pick up sweets all the time. They're working on getting Whole Foods to carry their desserts...how cool would that be?

WOW! This restaurant looks amazing, and how cool that they give some of their profits to a good cause! That Philly sandwich....droooll.....but the star of the show is that cake! I believe you when you say it is some of the best cake you've ever had, it looks incredible!

that's so awesome! i've heard really good things about that place. btw...it is VERY much up in the air, but i've applied for a promotion in nashville. imagine yours truly just a few hours away from you. would you and poopie come up to visit?